Jackson's pull-up jumper lifts Wisconsin over No. 9 Mich. St.

Doesn't matter if the point guard had been struggling in recent weeks with his shot. Or if he's having a tough day handling the ball, as he did Sunday with five turnovers against Michigan State. Coach Bo Ryan trusts the tough junior.

Jackson rewarded his coach's confidence Sunday after hitting a pull-up jumper from about 10 feet with 2.1 seconds left to lift the Badgers to a 60-58 win over the ninth-ranked Spartans.

"That's sort of what they expected out of me is just to finish the game," Jacksons said. "The pull-up was there, and I was blessed to be able to make it go in."

Jackson's jumper with Gary Harris in his face capped a frenetic final minute in which Michigan State's Adreian Payne tied it with a 3 with 10 seconds left.

A desperation 3 by Michigan State from midcourt banged off the rim as time expired, and the Wisconsin faithful erupted with applause. The victory snapped a three-game losing skid at home.

"Just (because) they lost a couple of home games -- and that's un-American in the Cheesehead State -- don't kid yourself. They're a very good team," coach Tom Izzo said.

The Badgers (19-5, 6-5 Big Ten) committed 14 turnovers, six more than their NCAA-leading 8.3 per game, but gutted out a win over the Spartans (20-4, 9-2).

Jackson hit three game-tying or winning jumpers in his first year at the point last season as a sophomore. He's the go-to guy in the clutch again this year.

"We executed that last 3-pointer as well as we've executed any play in the last 10 years," Izzo said. "I've watched two years' worth of Jackson hitting game-winning shots, so I put my best defender on him. And he hit another one."

Still, the Badgers had every right to be nervous. More than week ago in a similar spot in a loss to Ohio State, a defended Jackson had to pass up a final shot to teammate Sam Dekker, who missed a rushed 3 at the buzzer.

Jackson also went through a rough 12-of-45 shooting stretch, during which Wisconsin went 1-4.

But he's 7 of 12 now over his last two games, both Badgers wins. After a tough stretch of five losses in six games, Wisconsin clawed its way to a second straight victory.

Jackson finished with seven points and tied a career high with eight assists, but had five turnovers. No matter to Ryan.

"His decision-making has been a little sporadic at times, but in a last-second situation, if it starts in his hands, I feel very confident we're going to get something," Ryan said.

Travis Trice added 13 points for Michigan State, though Big Ten-leading scorer Harris was held to six points on 3-of-20 shooting after being shadowed most of the afternoon by defensive specialist Josh Gasser.

It was a tough day on both ends of the floor for Harris, who was guarding Jackson on the last play. Jackson veered left of the lane and pulled up for his game-winner.